Tackling corruption requires joint efforts

According to UN statistics, every year around $1 trillion is paid in bribes while an estimated $2.6 trillion are stolen annually through corruption – a sum equivalent to more than 5 per cent of the global GDP. In developing countries, according to the United Nations Development Program, funds lost to corruption are estimated at 10 times the amount of official development assistance.Corruption has been one of the main issues that have influenced Afghanistan to a great extent – it has not only created many other social problem but has also hindered the way to development and progress. Without uprooting corruption from the country, it is really difficult for Afghanistan to pave the way for peace, tranquility and progress. It is imperative to realize that the persistence of the issue of corruption or graft in Afghanistan is not a good sign. It is not only responsible for bringing bad name to the country but has also made the international community skeptical of supporting the country. Besides that, almost all walks of life have been influenced by the negative impacts of uncontrolled corruption as Afghanistan is enlisted among the most corrupt countries of the world. This has hampered the development initiatives in different parts of country to a large extent. Addressing an event marking the international day for fight against corruption in Kabul, President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani said to implement reform there were needed to have 6 major points of trust, plan, roadmap, commitment, implementation and result.“My and government’s decisions is to uproot corruption, and the efforts to be continued. This is not only the president and government’s work, but also requires people, media, civil society and ulema’s active participation,” the president noted.The president also said that if young generations were not given the opportunity to work in government organs, the country would once again go to the past dark days.Indeed, no strategy for fighting corruption in Afghanistan can be successful unless it starts making the strong individuals and institutions accountable for any sort of corruption that they commit. Meanwhile as President stated, all the strata of the society should join hand with their government in tackling corruption in the country.The rule of law and enforcement of applicable laws are the first and the strongest bulwarks against the menace of corruption. A strong and impartial judiciary with courts that can uphold the rule of law and protect the greatest goal of the public is desperately needed in Afghanistan.Without an effective and impartial judicial system, it is impossible to check and arrest the cancerous growth of corruption. Strengthening the judicial system in Afghanistan is an important imperative that goes hand in hand with the goal of stabilizing Afghanistan.Meanwhile, it is important to mention that only one institution is not able to tackle the deep-rooted corruption. To eradicate this problem, all the government institutions and people will have to work in line with one another. If all the three powers, i.e. the legislative, executive and judicial powers, move parallel with one another in a genuine way, the bulk of the challenges will be resolved in the country. But if a single of them remains behind, the problems will continue unabated. Hence, the government and people should join hand in fighting corruption and bringing the corrupt figures into justice.